We’ve run a few iPhone 6 concepts here on iDownloadBlog, but none has captured our attention like the newest work by Italy’s established 3D artist Federico Ciccarese who took a crack at envisioning what a large-screened iPhone could look like. Like most mockups, this is one concept that Apple most likely will never make, probably.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean a guy can’t dream, no? With that in mind, do take a look at Federico’s latest batch of iPhone 6 mockups and then chime in with your thoughts down in the comments…
He writes on his blog that the larger canvas would allow for the Home screen icons to be reorganized so, for instance, a 5.5-inch device would add a sixth icon to the Dock.
I’ve always loved the tapered back of the iPhone 3GS and it would make sense to give a larger device a tapered back for a better grip in your hand and an overall thinner appearance.
The 4.7-inch device would have a resolution of 750-by-1,338 pixels and a larger 5.5-inch iPhone would max out at 878-by-1,568 pixels. By comparison, the current iPhone 5/5s/5c have a 640-by-1,138 screen.
Note the sexy edge-to-edge design.
A design with virtually no side bezels would make possible an iPhablet with a five-inch screen that wasn’t jumbo-sized and allowed for one-hand use. I’m not sure whether such 100 percent edge-to-edge screen is feasible, but apparently Apple’s new plant in Messa, Arizona will be building sapphire-hardened front glass for the upcoming iPhones.
The next iPhone’s biggest unknown would have to be its design, not the form factor.
The current Unibody construction where the steel frame doubles as the antenna system has been around for nearly four years now.
The iPhone 4 in 2010 ushered in that design. Of course, it went on through several revisions (the Verizon iPhone 4, the iPhone 4s) needed to address the widely reported antenna non-issue.
Having inherited that design, the iPhone 5 replaced the glass cover on the back with an all-metal two-tone backplate. Still, the fact remains that there’re only minor visible differences between the 2010 iPhone 4 and the 2013 iPhone 5s in terms of the chassis.
So, is Apple going to give as a radical new iPhone look this year or simply rehash the four-year-old design? Only time will tell – and there’s only so much ways one could make an all-glass frame.
Apple in 2010 signed an exclusive agreement with Caltech spinoff Liquidmetal Technologies (later re-newing that agreement) which gave it exclusive worldwide rights to use the advanced alloy for consumer electronics purposes.
I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for a Liquidmetal iPhone for a while now.
Could 2014 be the year Apple goes Liquidmetal?